Mastercard partners with Riot Games

Riot Games and Mastercard are preparing to announce a major global sponsorship centered around “League of Legends” eSports, sources said, with one calling it the “biggest deal Riot has ever done.” Few details are known, but Mastercard will first appear as a sponsor at the LoL World Championships set for Oct 1 – Nov 3 in South Korea.

The reported deal would be big for both companies. Riot Games could not secure venues until just over a month ago, and questions over the company’s broadcast plans led to concerns over the financial viability of the enterprise. The plan is to more closely align costs and revenues in the eSports department. This will be a way of further trying to monetizing eSports.

Mastercard is well known for its sponsorship of traditional sports leagues like the MLB, Champions League, and PGA Tour. The company does have experience sponsoring gaming events; in 2013 Mastercard partnered with Alienware to sponsor a Dota 2 tournament ahead of TI3, but this would be one of its biggest approach into eSports.

The fact that a major Fortune 500 company and one of the biggest payment processors in the world is stepping further into eSports is also a good sign for the industry as a whole. As sponsorships from traditional partners continue to grow, it further legitimizes the growth that eSports has experienced.